Sunshine and Darkness
by StackofStories
Summary: Will and Nico ideas that will never get published. They're like assorted chocolates, try some and if you like them they're free to adopt or eat...
1. Chapter 1

There are mistakes abound. These are idea originally for the a certain someone. -sigh- If anyone wishes to use these ideas just PM me or review. Okay, I hope people find some joy. These are unbeta'd and there are a variety, so be warned.

*Stack


	2. I Fell in Love with the Grim Reaper

Title: Luminescent  
Pairing: Wilco  
Summary: Will falls in love with freshmen Nico, and wants to get close to him but he has a harem of boys surrounding him.  
Genre: Humor and Romance  
Type: One-shot

The first time Will Solace spotted Nico di Angelo, then a nameless boy, in the halls, he swears he hears angels singing and everything in the world seems to get better tenfold. His heart thumps wildly against his chest and his feet start to move before his mind quite registers what he's doing. In a moment, he's in front of the nameless person, towering the small boy by at least a foot and a half. He wonders if he's blushing and if his hair looks good, or even if that pesky pimple has suddenly come back.

The boy, he still doesn't know his name yet, grabs a few books out of his locker and slams it shut with a grumble. Immediately Will feels like he should grumble and grunt on the boy's behalf because anything that makes his future boyfriend anything, but happy is on his hate list. The boy takes some time to put his few books in his Nightmare Before Christmas backpack, Will takes the time to study his sudden interest: vampiric pale skin, scruffy black hair, dressed in all black despite it being nintey-eight degrees outside. Gothic or Emo, perhaps.

His mind takes him down a different road where he compares gothic and emo each weighing the differences and similiarties. Only when the nameless boy let's out a defensive, "Who are you?" does he snap back into reality with an audible gulp.

Uhh. Uhh. Holy Cheeseballs! He's forgotten his own name. He's had it for damn near seventeen years and he's forgotten it. Okay, he's sorta of kinda panicking right now because he's in front of him, actually talking to him directly, and he is gaping like a dead fish. He's sorta surprised and flattered the nameless boy hasn't walked away.

Speak of the devil.

His crush nods at him at him real slow and his steps are taking him backwards, away. Will acts on instinct and grabs his wrist pulling him close, "Will!" he finally gets out with a big breath, "My name is Will!"

The boy nods at him once again with an eyebrow raised. "It's nice meeting you, Will. Did you need something from me, or…" he trails off awkwardly and Will is too busy with the fact his crush actually said his name and he likes the way he says his name, how it rolls off his tongue, three letters put together to sound like perfection.

"What's your name?" he asks suddenly.

"… Nico," Nico says and Will can't help his smile. He loves the name already. He's pretty sure if he was a girl he'd write be opening and drawing hearts all over his notebook with the name Nico smack dab in the middle.

"Nico!" he dares himself to say, his smile growing wider, "I was wondering you'd like to hang out after school today." Will is rather proud how he says that. It's not really a date or too forward. He's never seen Nico before, he's pretty sure he's a freshmen, and Nico doesn't know him, but maybe it would get the ball rolling for something more.

Nico slips his wrist from Will's hold, his brown almost black eyes are firm, "I don't know you, so no." He turns on his heel and is gone like that. The first bell rings and all students start to move to homeroom, but Will just stands there. Smile in place.

He vaguely wonders if anyone can hear his heartbreak or the smallest violin playing.

Lunch rolls around, Will's feeling a bit blue. He's been replaying Nico's rejection all day. Where did he go wrong, he wonders sadly. He's Will Solace, MVP since freshmen year, voted hottest guy in the school, he has a guitar, a killer six-pack, and a car. What person doesn't want him!

'Nico', his conscious spitefully reminds him.

Will sighs, his head falls to the lunch table. Who knew rejection hurt so much? Next time, he let a gal down he promised he do more more than give her a smile. Maybe he'd give her a chocolate chip or sugar cookie, both if he was feeling amiable.

"Cheer up, Will. There are fishs out in the sea," Leo says, taking (stealing) another handful of crispy fries from his lunch tray. Frosty blue eyes slide over to his small elfish friend, Leo, just smiles at him with mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"You're disgusting, Valdez."

"Don't pretend you don't love me," Leo says with a smile.

Will rolls his eyes yet again, he's in no mood for Leo's cheery mood. He just wants to go home to sulk in private and maybe eat some greasy burgers, watch crappy 90 sitcoms, anything to get his mind off the love of his life. He groans some more and wishes lunch would hurry up, so, he could go to Math class and flirt his shame away with that cutsie nerd…

"Roses are red. Violets are blue. I am so awesome, " Apollo chips in suddenly. Will is met with a blinding smile and a face almost identical to his. Just what he needed. His older brother, Apollo, who thinks he's God's gift to mankind. Where's Artemis, his brother's best friend and quasi sister, when he needs her.

… Oh right, the feminist rally in Washington, something about bras objectifying women.

"What's wrong with you, little bro," Apollo inquires, pluckng a half-eaten fry from Leo's mouth, stunning the normally boisterous boy into silence. Will's stare slids from is brother to his best friend, feeling sympathy wash over him. Leo has had the biggest crush on his brother since first grade. Apollo, being the dick he is, likes to tease Leo.

Will groans.

... Will was to find out Nico was a Grim Reaper and he was about to go to heat. Jason is a rival that's been vying for Nico's attentions for centuries. Will gets Leo to train him as some sort of demon hunter, he has a final battle with Jason, wins his heart and gains his love. It was supposed to be a very, very funny and humorous story.


	3. Cancer

Title: Cancer  
Pairing: Wilco, Will/OC  
Summary: The first rule Will ever learned in a hospital had been when he was simple volunteer. The rule he learned was never fall in love with a patient.  
World: Alternate Universe  
Type: One-shot  
Warnings: Slash and death, author's poor shit attempt at making the reader feel something.

* * *

"Daddy," the soft whisper filtered into his private study. Will's sky-blue hues glanced up from his medical textbook to land on the intruder in the room. For a moment, Will studied her — her, as in, his six-year-old daughter, Artemis. She was an exact copy of her mother with her curly pitch-black hair, button nose, and betwitching violet eyes.

"Yes, Artemis?" he said. He gestured for his daughter to come to him, which she did immediately. She clambered onto his lap and settled herself comfortably before taking an exaggerated sigh. Oh. He was familiar with her actions and he prepared himself. He made promise long ago he would never lie to his child(ren).

"Was Mommy your true love?" she inquired with utter seriousness.

Will exhaled. That wasn't so bad. I mean, God forbid, she asked him about sex or boys. Anyhow, he should of expected the question to pop up sooner or later. His daughter was very much into that disney princesses right now, always talking her prince charming and what not. He stared down at his daughter, exhaling again.

"No baby, she was not," he said quietly.

She knitted her eyebrows together adopting a pensive look. Will could only imagine the thoughts buzzing around her little head. Her petted her raven locks, choosing to banish thought from her mind. "That doesn't me that I don't love your mother, very, very much," he explained.

"Oh," his daughter meekly returned. She waited a second and then she launched into another question. "If Mommy's not your true love then why you not with her instead of Mommy?"

Will frowned. His hand stopping in Artemis' hair. His bright blue eyes took on a dark sheen. He briefly wandered if he should share a piece of him with his daughter, a piece of his life that he had buried long-ago determined to move on and live for the both of them. Yet, his daughter's question raised the ghosts of his past.

If he listened he could hear a raspy chuckle, and if he breathed in he would the smell abnormal scent of lemon-scented bleach and old air-freshener.

"Daddy…" his daughter prodded. His ghosts froze in their place. His attention was back on his daughter, but she was blurred. Her features morphed and shifted. For a moment in time, he stared at what could of been. Artemis had shaggy pitch-black hair, her skin taking on a light olive-sheen, and lightless brown eyes stared back up at him. She was bundled up in a familiar aviator jacket.

"Daddy," she said again and the image was cruelly shattered.

"He's dead, honey," he said finally.

Artemis' eyebrows raised. Her button nose scrunched up. "He?" she said with a curious edge. "Daddy's true love was a he?" She stared at him as if to say: I said that and it's okay, right?

"Yes baby," Will let out.

"Why did he die? Who was he?" she fired off in rapid succession. He let out a chuckle. He loved his daughter's inquisitive nature. Most days it seemed as if that was the only trait she received from him.

Will clucked his tongue and then whispered, grinning conspiratorially. "If I tell you, it has to be a secret between us. You can't tell anyone. Not even Mommy. Deal?" he held out a pinky finger. Artemis immediately intertwined her small pinky with her father's.

"Deal," she whispered back.

Will nodded and then leaned back in his leather seat. He let himself drift off into days of yesterday. "His name was Nico di Angelo…"

Will pressed on the doorbell and waited. He couldn't believe he actually got the job! He resisted the urge to preen, it was so exciting. He was sixteen and finally someone took him seriously as nurse and someone that could be productive in the medical, that didn't just seem some kid living up to the famed Solace family name.

He would be the best personal nurse ever, he made that promise just as the door opened. A girl, a year or two younger him, was at the doorway. She was pretty with smooth mocha-colored skin and golden eyes that shined like the most precious of jewels. "You're

* * *

... Based on the song of Cancer by My Chemical Romance. Just a giant flashback how Will never moved on from Nico who died from cancer. Supposed to be bittersweet.


	4. Observant

Since Will Solace literally came out of his mother's womb he had been a people watcher. It was an innate thirst he'd never been able to quench. From the time he could grasp onto ideas and form words and thoughts, he'd watch with avid interest the persons trafficking his environment. Not even his ADHD or dyslexia could quite curb his abnormal quirk.

Will even kept a journal of all those that piqued his attention. His earliest entries were messily written descriptions of the odd couple of Mr. and Mrs. Bryce. Mrs. Bryce was never home and because of that Mr. Bryce always seemed to be at home with a new women every night. And whenever Mrs. Bryce was home, Mr. Bryce was horribly crabby and always wore that pinched, distasteful look on his face.

At eight when he moved to Maine, all of Will's journal entries were about the odd (at the time) fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Willard. At once Will noticed she was very pretty with long, flowing sun-shiney blonde hair and big, bright blue eyes. Practically every boy over the age of nine was drooling after her. Will never cared very much for Ms. Willard as his journal entries showed, it was just she was so different during recesses and lunch, and she ALWAYS carried the scent of candy.

Odd.

Anyhow, as his journal went, at both recess and lunch Ms. Willard pick a single boy from third grade and above to have lunch with her or just talk. They usually were gone for the entire time. When the boys came back just before the bell rung, Will noticed how they either wore a proud grin or a slight peeved expression with a hint of fear and apprehension. Will also picked out the same candy scent of them too. It was all very weird to Will at the time, but he had written it off as kids his age would do.

His journal went on to describe a plethora of people. It mainly focused on his teachers and his nannies, even his mother. It seemed from ten to twelve, Will thought the whole world was stalking him and asking him tons of questions. He furiously wrote every day about Mr. Whoever doing this, Mom asking me that, the dog— and then it came to an abrupt stop.

On his twelve birthday too, and Will remembered that day well. Too well. His mother diagnosed with a serious case of OCD had changed up her regular schedule. In the dead of the night, she made him pack a suitcase and she drove from Maine to New York, almost nonstop, until she stopped her car at the edge of the forest and turned around.

A look Will could never quite comprehend crossed his Mother's mousy features. Then, she spilled everything. She told him of his godly father and how he wooed her, how he was a product of their love. It scared Will, and yet he forced to come in-terms with it when Jeff Gala, seventh grader, popped up from out of nowhere and explained he was a infact a satyr and his protector.

His mother had pushed him out of the car, a kiss on the cheek, and promise to pick him up at the end of summer. On June 22nd, the day after his twelfth birthday, he was claimed by Apollo at Camp Half-Blood and from there was introduced to his rather large family.

Luckily, or rather unluckily, Will still could continue with his hobby and his did so. He observed that not all girls of the Aphrodite were naturally ditzy, slutty, or bad at Camp activities. In fact, Silena was nicest girl Will had ever met. Drew was way, way smarter than of those Athena cabin know-it-alls, and Claire was astoundingly good at sword practice.

The Ares kids were indeed tough brutes, but Will had picked that one or two of them were just softies. The Hermes children returned what they stole. The Athena kids were know-it-all brats with little common sense, and rest went on. Will stopped with journal for awhile when he realized for being a part of the world that was so unworldly they were so, ugh, how could one phrase?

Mundane, perhaps?

Will despised all that was normal and ordinary. That was the whole point of people watching, to seem ordinary people to extraordinary things. Here at Camp Half-Blood they were like those on the outside, and because of that Will's people watching at Camp was narrowed.

He still took the time to observe and study, but no longer did he bother to jot down his entries. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, stumbled into their lives or when their whole world was thrown into war. Nope! He just watched his surroundings rip and tear around him, boredom practically oozing from until one fateful day.

A single day when his mother had dropped him off in Camp just before Winter Solstice, and he came face-to-face with a kid babbling about Mythomagic: Nico di Angelo, the single most interesting person in the world.

* * *

... I seriously had no idea where I was going with this. Will was some weird stalker, unrequited love, perhaps. Ugh.


	5. Bonquet

"Bouquet of roses," stopped Will Solace on his trek to the Lotus. He back peddled just a step and clocked forward, a thin blonde eyebrow raised. His cornflower blue irises locked onto a rather adorable child seated beside a cart of thorny roses dripped in morning dew.

He silently pointed to himself, feeling more than silly when he mouthed 'me' and the child only giggled and nodded. She grinned brightly at him, repeating, "Bouquet of roses?" The child reached to the green cart, expectedly, her bottletop green eyes sparkling as she waited for him to make his move.

Oh, she was a clever little imp, that child.

Will knew for certain that she somehow picked up on his nature. He wasn't ever really good with saying no to people, and faced with her (this angel-faced cherub of a rugrat) question, he was beat. He had to buy a bouquet of roses. He reasoned that if didn't, the sweet little angel would burst into a river of tears and shucks if Will wanted that to happen.

He bended down to his hunches with his famous flirty grin on his lips. "Sure, I'll buy a bouquet sweetie. How much?" His grin became a bit more natural against his will when the child abruptly cheered in spot and did a little jig in celebration. He watched her amused, waiting, until she got back on the task at hand.

Situations like these make him wonder if he were ever this carefree during his childhood. Did he ever get ecstatic and over-the-moon like this girl over simple stuff? If only — his thoughts were cut off with a sharp tug on his right arm. He fell back down to reality. "Oh sorry, sweetie. What did you say?"

She patted him knowingly on the arm. "That will be twenty-five dollars, mister," she repeated pleasantly. She held out her small palm and stared at him. Will promptly dug into his front pocket, thanking whoever that he decided to take actual money out of the ATM this week. He handed the exact amount in crumpled bills and then some to her. He knew that a bouquet of roses were expensive and whoever told the kid they were that much was scamming the poor girl.

He observed her in amusement as the girl took her careful time to count the money. She stuck her tiny red tongue out and her rosebud lips moved as named two Jacksons, five Lincolns, and five Washingtons. She then used her fingers to add it all up. "You gave me eighty?" she asked more than said with an uncertain edge.

"Actually, that's seventy, sweetie," he replied with a wink. "Keep the change."

"B-b-but, that's too much!" she scrunched her nose, oddly resembling Thalia, when she found something particularly unpleasant.

"Consider it a gift!" Will replied jovially. The girl eyed him for an intense moment before she put the money away in the small metal box beside her. He suppressed a chuckle when he heard her mumble about 'crazy old people and how she'd never understand them'.

The girl proceeded to pick. She rose from her princess barbie stool onto her feet, and with a critical eye she began to cultivate his bouquet. Her deft fingers twirled around the many colors of roses, she choose a traditional scarlet one here, an unusual green one there, a dash of orange mixed in, a splash of purple, a dab of pink; the point was that she gathered and gathered until she stopped. Out of nowhere, she grabbed a decorative plastic wrap and tied a bright red bow around the flowers' middle. She was finished.

"Here you go," she chirped, a happy blush settled on her pale cheeks. "I hope you like it." She carefully passed her creation from her to him.

"Thanks, sweetie," he managed, stumped. In his arms he literally held a palette of colors, what should've been a disastrous mess was actually a decadent masterpiece.

"No problem, mister," she waved him off most likely trying not to preen. The kid was so adorable, seriously, it was tugging on his heartstrings. He shifted his roses into one careful arm and then used the other to pull out his business card.

He gave it to her and then winked again. "If your parents and you are ever in the Lotus Hotel, just ask for me, personally. Just tell them your name, which is…"

"Miranda Gardiner," she gave.

Will nodded as he committed the name to memory. "I'll remember, sweetie. Thank you!" he called over his shoulder when he started to walk to the Lotus. He would definitely remember Miranda Gardiner.

* * *

... This was an AU of Lotus Hotel where Will was going to ask Nico out, it was supposed to short and simple. Very happy.


	6. Monster

Title: Monster  
Pairing(s): Will/Nico and Will/Bianca  
Rating: Mature or NC-17  
Summary: Did you know Will was a monster in disguise?  
Warnings: Pedophilia…

* * *

Monster

* * *

But of course, you wouldn't know because Will himself wasn't privy to this information. He assumed like every other teenager in the world, after they got over their soulless angst period, that he was normal and he was going to make something of himself in the big, big world. And he did, Will Solace was youngest person ever to be licensed as a E.R. doctor with 99% mortality rate. At twenty-five-years-old Will had a golden path laid out.

So, what changed?

The answer quite simply was he met and fell in love with a woman, Bianca di Angelo. Bianca was everything he wanted in a woman. She was beautiful, strong, and intelligent. It wasn't much of surprise when a year and six months into their relationship Will popped the question. Bianca wasted not a breath and said yes.

They agreed to move in together and have a long engagement until they were absolutely ready to be in a legally binding contract with each other. All was well in their relationship until their night of their second anniversary when Bianca received a call from the hospital. Both her mother and father died in horrible car crash. Her little brother, Nico, was an orphan.

Immediately, Bianca agreed to have a custody over her ten-year-old brother. Will gave his consent when Bianca asked if Nico could live with them, knowing, he'd never be able to make his beloved choose between him and family.

So, a week later on an Autumn morn, Bianca came home with a little boy. And then, Will knew something was off when he couldn't shake his fixation on the small boy.

He was so beautiful you couldn't possible understand!

So fucking pretty with those wide, brown eyes and that baby-soft porcelain skin, and those lips… what he wouldn't give to just nibble on them for a second.

What a depraved monster he was! He deserved all hellfire those received upon entering hell for such ssinister evil thoughts. How could a human being lom

* * *

... very, very early idea. I'm not going to lie, I really am into shota at the moment. I apologize if it disgusts anybody. It's an inner kink of mine. I love it. I hate pedophiles tho, sick monsters. yeah.


	7. Lessons1

Title: Lessons

"You've got to dance like there's nobody watching,"

It's a party, or at least was supposed to be one. Will can't help his sigh when his blue eyes move from person to person, greek and roman. There's a buffet line ten feet long, there are balloons and party games of every kind. The Hephaestus children lead by Leo build amazing structures and gadgets to make the party all the more fun, but still no one is making an effort.

Will is aggravated. He did not come out here to sit around and make awkward eye contact with everyone like a middle school dance; if he has to be the one to start things so be it. First though, he has to find a dance partner. There's always the ever so beautiful Aphrodite/Venus kids, the earthly and pretty Demeter and Persephone children, or the kind of aggressive but still kinda sexy war children. They all have their advantages and disadvantages as dancing partners, but ehh. Will wants someone different.

He scans the crowd of demigods once more before he sets his eyes on the Hades kid. Will doesn't know how he missed him before, it was like he materialized from the shadows. But he doesn't spend too much time on how the kid suddenly appeared, he finds the boy perfect in a way he couldn't quite explain. His body makes up its mind before he actually does, and he's up and moving across the pavilion. The girls perk up and give him award-winning smiles, but he only has eyes for the pale boy.

All stares follow him to the corner where the boy sits. Up close he can see he has vampiric pale skin and shaggy black hair. To be honest he looks too skinny and frail like he'll blow away with the slightest wind, he's not outwardly attractive, but he has a sort of cool mysterious and darkness that draws him in.

"Hi," he offers a hand, "wanna dance."

Brown almost black eyes stare him down, to be honest it unnerves Will enough to lose some of his cool confidence. Those eyes were showed both madness and genius swirled into one vortex. Plenty of people, sane persons, would back away, but not him. "Do you want to dance?" he repeats.

The boy blinks. "Why?"

Will shrugs, "Why not."

The boy glances away, Will tsks under his breath. He grabs a hold of the boy's wrist and drags him out to the empty dance space. The music box is on a roundabout and he's ever so thankful it's playing a type of soft music, just right for slow dancing.

The boy, okay, really he needs to know his name, and why it eludes him causes him a bit of confusion. He can boast that he knows everybody at Camp, since everybody has stopped at the Infirmary at least three times. He sighs, dragging the nameless boy close, noting that he's cold. Cold like he's been sitting in ice-water for hours.

Will is polite though, he doesn't say anything. Instead, starts sway from side to side and tries to guide Nico with him, but the younger boy doesn't want to move. He just stays in the same spot, his limbs frozen.

"Loosen up a bit," Will says. "All you have to do is follow. I'll lead."

Whatshisname stares at him blankly as if he's asked the dumbest question in history. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Everyone's staring," whatshisname hisses.

At that Will has to laugh because really, as an child of Apollo he's never really known shyness or embarrassment. He's an extrovert by nature, and like the sun he tends to draw everybody in by his innate warmth. He enjoys attention and he's never interacted with anyone that doesn't. So, his response to it is to force his dancing partner into a twirl sorta and then pulling him back.

His dancing partner snorts and Will comes up with the perfect name for him. "Zombie Boy! It's just you and me, dance!" he laughs.

Newly dubbed Zombie Boy, glares at him fiercely, "I'm doing this for your sake. You just dance with someone else, someone willing. And my name is Nico, idiot! "

"Tomato tomahto, Zombie Boy," Will says with a roll of his eyes, "don't be so stiff like the dead. You shouldn't care about other people think. I certainly don't."

"I don't either!" Nico retorts with an indigant edge.

"Uh huh, then show me," he leans down to Nico's eyelevel, challenging him. He absently notes that Nico has a smell of sulfur around him. Will is lucky, they're demigods, and demigods are always up for challenge. There's nary one that will back down from one.

"Can you do the jive?"

Will snorts. "Can he do the jive he asks. I've been dancing since I was three, I've won multiple competitions. Can I do the jive?"

Nico smirks. "We'll see."

They stop and Will says clearly, "Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire." Leo's programmed the music to change automatically to whatever song a user wants. It isn't public knowledge for obvious reasons, but Will is special so yeah. A couple of seconds, Jerry's upbeat song filters through Camp and Will looks down at dancing partner. "I'm leading."

Nico nods.

And then they start.

Holy Nuggets. It's starts off slow and then it their dancing becomes a literal competition between them. Nico follows him step-for-step and move for move, gradually, a smile makes his way on his lips as he dances in and out of Will's way. Their compatible and they pick up on each other's cues easily. He never thought the reclusive demigod was so flexible, it's exhilarting how they dance and kick, lift and spin, around and around. After three minutes, they stop in each other's arms, breathing heavily.

Will hears the other demigods clap in the background, but he can't really focus on them. Nico's smiling, and golly, it's enough to make his knees wobble and him to recite one of his father's haikus. Nico looks so much more childlike, human, when he smiles. He should do all day, everyday. His mouth opens to say something, but its interrupted when a horde of girls and boys crowd around Will.

They're all talking at once, each begging for his attention. He tries to push them out of the way and focus on Nico, but they block his vision. Nico slips out his arms before he tell him to stay. Finally, Will grabs onto the closest person to him. He twists away from the demigod crowd and starts to dance with the nameless person, a faux smile on his lips.

… Will wonders why he feels a sense of loss.


	8. Lessons2

Title: Lesson_2

"Sing like there's nobody listening,"

It's fact that most kids at Camp Half-Blood can't sing for shit. Will borne from the nearly-perfect loins of Apollo can sing for shit and so can the rest of his siblings, the Aphrodite children can sing too. So yeah. It's fact everybody at Camp is still aware of, but yet it doesn't stop anyone from singing when it's time for the Camp fire; or when boys are feeling specially romantic and decide to serenade their sweethearts.

At the Camp Fire, Will can pick out most everybody's voices. There's Percy yowling like dying cat. There's the emotionless Athenians that sing in pitch, but there's nothing special about their voices — it's too artifical. He can hear the Hermes children, rapping and generally goofing off, the gruff Hepheastus children, the screamo Ares, the mousy Hebe, and the list goes on.

Will can hear just about anyone except, he's feels like someone is missing. He scans over crowded amphitheater, mentally going over the names as he goes over each and every head. He gets to the end with Kathy Bates — an Nike child, and for some reason that doesn't seem right. He starts the headcount when spots the swath of the shadows away from the brightly-lit fire; it seems to pushed out there: Forgotten and lonely. As a sun child that isn't right by any means, everything and everybody needs to be brought into the sunlight.

Nothing, nothing ever grows in dark.

So, he makes up his mind to go over there. He ignores the confused faces of his siblings and starts to walk, pushing and shoving people out of his way until he gets to Nico. He plops down in the bench without a word, a bright smile on his lips. He faces a forward and waits a moment for Nico to acknowledge him.

"You," Nico grunts. "What are you doing here?"

"Silly Zombie-Boy; I'm doing my camper duties and singing along with my fellow campers," Will answers. He can see Nico scowling at him from his peripheal vision; he finds it kinda cute. His pale cheeks puff out like a chimpmunk and his eyebrows knit together, his fists curl…

"Idiot!" Nico accuses. "Why are you sitting here with me; shouldn't you be squawking over there with the rest of your clan?"

Will's eyes gain a weird dumbledore-ish glint in them. He faces Nico with his smile still in place. "I like squawking over here, thanks."

He watches the minute the transformation with wonder. Nico's lips part and something akin to disbelief crosses his face before its wiped off. His cheeks lose their puffiness, his eyebrows unknit, but his fists stay curled. "Don't be ridiculous," he spits. "Who wants to hang out with the creepy dead?"

"I do!" Will says happily. "The living are dreadful; full of inhibitions and fear; while the dead aren't. Dead's better company, Zombie Boy."

Nico stares, and then glances away just as red sprinkles his cheeks, "You're idiot," he mumbles. Will laughs, accepting it as invitation to stay.

"So! Zombie Boy, why aren't you singing?" Will asks, the question erasing the white static background and bringing focus into reality once again. He cam hear the harminous singing of his siblings and the additions of the Aphrodities along with the horrible, horrible voices of the other campers.

Nico gives him a nonchalant shrug. "I don't sing," he says.

Will scoots over. "Nonsense!" he cries dramatically, "Everybody sings. Every those with laryngitis and vocal nodules."

Nico shrugs again.

Will crosses his arms. "If you don't attempt to sing… I… " he has to pause and actually think about his threat; what would he do? Nico didn't seem like the person that got perturbed by much. Huh… in the brief meetings he has had with Zombie Boy, the only thing he didn't seem to like was… Will wears a Cheshire smirk, his golden eyebrows waggling. "If you don't start singing, I will, and I'll stand up in front of all these campers and dedicate the song to you!"

Nico glances over at him, his shoulders tense, "You're bluffing."

Will couldn't help his leer. "If you say so."

Nico's eyes flick down to the ground, he snorts, amd smirks, his stare finding its way back to his. "As if I'd believe an idiot like you— I'm not singing."

Hn. Demigods never back down from any type of challenge. He nodd real slow to Nico and then scoots back further down the bench. He waits with a pleasant smile as the merry songs go on and on until Mr. D and Chiron stand up. As Mr. D opens his mouth to wish them a grumpy goodnight, he jumps up and waves around.

Mr. D shoots him an annoyed glare that promises punishment later on when Chiron calls on him. He begs his Camp directior, Chiron, he has a crush on someone special and he'd like to dedicate a very special song to them.

Wide blue eyes come in handy, he looks pleadingly at Chiron with his lip poking out amd his blue eyes shinning; it doesn't help half the campers are cheering him on before Chiron relents with a soft, "Make it quick, my boy." Mr. D is irritated, very irritated. If he didn't know it before he's definitely aware of it now, Mr. D's punishment for this was going to be Tartarus.

He catches Nico's eye as he ambles forward to stand just in front of the light pinkish fire. He's going through with this.

He winks at Nico briefly. "I like to dedicate this song to my Zombie Boy, Nico," there's a collective gasp, but Will pushes forward, the most embarrassing song zips through him. "Hey! Hey! You! You! I don't like your girlfriend!"

And yeah, he continues to sing the song with all the passion and bravado its meant to be sung with. He's pointing and crooning and doing all that mess, he gets to the fifth verse before Nico has had enough. He's a deep cherry red and he's frozen in spot as a Will sings, he can see how there are whispers and points directed at a Nico. He's collects the shadows unconsciously, the shadows leech from the trees, cabins, and people. All of them are inky black as they inch toward him in an agonizingly slow pace. They rise, they cover him, in an insidious black blanket straight out of horror movie, and then he's gone.

No more Zombie Boy.

Will continues singing like nothing has changed. Inside he feels like the biggest douche ever. Maybe he went a little overboard.


	9. Lessons3

Title: Lessons_3  
"Live like it's heaven on Earth,"

Will scoops up the last pile of pegasi dung into the pile with an ugly grimace. He's done! After two weeks of backbreaking labor, he's free at last. Thank Gods almighty, he is free at last! He sets down his shovel and resists the urge to cackle, now, he can go take a nice soak in his cabin's bath — all thoughts come to crashing stop as he feels hands on his back, a harsh push.

Ah! Instinct tells him to push his arms out to cushion his fall— no, no, no, NO! The dung pile and then— ugh. He's covered in icky, slimy, smelly horse shit and it's everywhere. In his mouth, his pants, his hair— argh! Gods, it takes everything within him not to throw up or squeal like a girl. Whoever did this was gonna pay, he is gonna get revenge; he's pretty sure its one of those knuckleheads from the Ares. Well, he'll show them. Wait until he gets ahold of his bow and arrows— "Percy, Travis, Connor?" he twists around to see them properly.

He doesn't quite believe its the three of them standing around him in a semi-circle. They all look pissed. Percy especially. He wonders why. He moves to stand up and ask them if they saw who pushed him when Percy pulls out his sword, the very pointy end is under his neck. "Guys?" he says confusedly, "What's wrong?"

"You're what's wrong," Percy presses the tip further into his soft skin, Will's pretty sure it's blood that he's feeling slid down his skin. Will has never understood how anyone could be afraid of Percy, but here, kneeling at his mercy with his cold sea-green eyes locked onto him, the only emotion that runs through him is blood-curdling fear.

Will licks his lips, he's determined to hold his head high though, he's a warrior. He won't let anyone see his fear. "Tell me what I've done," he says, "what's your problem with me, Jackson? Last I checked we were on good terms."

"You hurt our Nikki!" Travis and Connor chorus in place of Percy. Will turns to face the almost twins. They are truly a surprise, he's known them since he was a snotty ten-year-old brat and he's never seen them so angry, so anxious. What in the Tartarus. The Stolls are thick as thieves, they cared for none but themselves… or so, he thought.

"You hurt our Nikki," Percy echoes them.

Will shakes his head. "I'm sorry, you've got the wrong person. I don't know this 'Nikki'."

"Nikki— Nico!" Connor says angrily, "He's been avoiding everyone for two weeks because of your little stunt! He refuses to talk to anyone. All that hard work, all those years— down the fucking drain because of you!"

"Zombie Boy," that catches Will's attention. His boy that smiles so prettily, so beautifully, so rarely. His Zombie Boy is hiding because of him.

"You're gonna fix our Nikki. Make him happy," Percy bumps in, he draws his sword back. "Fix him now."

Will splutters. He isn't sure he understands what they mean. He hasn't forgotten that he's covered in horse shit and he's sweaty. "Now," he says. "Like right now?"

Percy smirks as does Connor and Travis. "Yes, right now."

Will, always the cheeky one, has to play the devil's adovcate. "And what if I refu—" the sword is back under his chin before he can even finish the sentence.

Percy shrugs like its no big deal. "My father gave me my own pet Kracken for my birthday. He has a penchant for human flesh." He retracts the sword back the his side, thoughtful. "Nikki has lunch right about now."

He nods and then gestures for the Stolls to follow him. They do so reluctantly leaving Will there surrounded by gooey poop. It's pretty obvious the choices he has. Apologize to his Zombie Boy and make him happy again, or be served as a main course to a sea monster.

Hm.

Flies follow him in a cloud as he begins to walk to the pavilion. Campers and Mythological creatures alike cover noses and cower as he walks by. He wishes he could have had time to take a shower…

The food seems to shrivel and mold in his presence when he gets to the pavilion. The Dionysus, Hades, and Hermes children all share lunch together. Nico is at his table, alone, munching on a cheeseburger.

Connor and Travis are watching him.

"Zombie Boy!" he greets jovially, sliding into the seat across from him. "Long time no see!"

Nico doesn't even look at him. No idiot. No nothing. That hurts.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd accompany me… someplace… somewhere… the ideas aren't so concrete, but I promise you'll have a good time," he laughs, playing with his fingers.

"The last time someone promised me something he broke it… I almost killed him," Nico sets his burger down.

"So, you'll kill me if you don't have a good time. Is that a yes. You'll go with me!" Will says excitedly. Nico's mouth twitches. He shakes his head, Will thinks it's a rejection before Nico gives him a wry grin.

"I'll feed you to Cerberus if you break your promise," Nico says, getting up. He takes his plate with him and leaves without a word or glance back, Will watching his every step with a smile. He vaguely wonders if all children of the Big Three have monsterous creatures that hunger for human flesh before the thought is pushed out of his head with two new additions at Hades' table.

"Travis, Connor," Will greets.

"Solace," the Stolls intone. Ooh, Will's still in their bad graces.

"Nikki's smiling—," Connor starts, his hand propped under his chin.

"–which is lucky for you because—, " Travis follows after, mirroring his little brother.

–"if he weren't—," and from there, Will's glance flits between the twin devils.

"–your music would be destroyed—"

"– your bed filled with venomous snakes—"

"–and the list goes," they chime together merrily.

Will can only nod, they're clearly protective over Zombie Boy, and for that he has an unfamiliar pang of jealously. Zombie Boy was his to be protective over. It was him that should feel the need to protect his Zombie Boy's happiness not the Stolls. However, he doesn't say anything.

He nods once more to them and leaves the table. He needs a long shower and to think of a good place to bring Zombie Boy. Somewhere he could have fun and be a regular teenager, to not look so broken and despondent all the damn time. Places like that are lost him… this is going to be hard.

Will stares at himself in his mirror: dark wash jeans, baggy in the slightest, tight red shirt, and light blond hair to die for. Today is Friday. The day he takes Zombie Boy out for a night out. For the past week, he had made it point to a portion of his days with Zombie Boy exclusively.

And like a light switch he's thinking about Zombie Boy again, and really, when is he not? He eats, he sleeps, he showers, and shits, and in between those intervals he's thinking about Nikki. Gods, he's thinking about his smile, and his laughter that always carries that heady dark edge, how in private he nerds out and still carries out a small figurine of Hades from Mythomagic, his shaggy hair which really needs a comb… and he's clearly going off on a tangent.

He hasn't felt like this since he first came to Camp Half-Blood and laid eyes on Luke Castellan, but that was only a boy's crush. A silly starry-eyed daze.

"Stop preening, you're gonna be late!" Kayla yells from the other room.

Will freezes. Late! He's never been late to anything in his life, all thoughts of Luke are thrown out, a sense of urgency weighs heavily him. He dashes around his room, grabbing money and other miscellaneous items before he exits his room. He spots a laughing Kayla on the way out of the cabin and out the door.

He jogs down row of cabins until he skids to a stop in front Hades. It's black, it's scary-looking, and it emits a weird scary aura that encases the sinister building like a haze of miasma. Nevertheless, he gulps down his nerves and takes to the cabin's steps two at the time. His hands are sweaty by the time he's at the door, and he's pretty sure he'd shaking by the time he gains the courage to knock on the door, which is ridiculous notion because he's been on a plenty of dates before and he's never felt any time of nervousness, and wow.

"Z-Z— Nico," he stutters. "Wow."

Will spots the barest hint of blush on Nico's cheeks, but it disappears when Nico glares up at him, frowning. "You're late."

It's his turn to blush, Will shifts awkwardly, "Uh. Well, you see, it's just that–," Nico's stare is really, really unnerving, he's at loss for words, and it doesn't help he's dressed up so deliciously that his brain is short-circuiting, and Nico's still waiting for his answer and he doesn't have one…

"He didn't bring you flowers; I don't like him," a new voice cuts in. Will blinks at the new person appearing behind Nico. He seems vaguely familiar, but the thing that strikes him is he's built like a God. Strong jaw. Piercing blue eyes. Short blond hair. Tall, Tanned, and muscled. Okay. Who is he, and what was he doing in Nico's cabin?

"Jason," sighs Nico, "like I've told the others. He's fine."

This Jason's stare never moves from Will's. His arms and body do, however, Jason drags Nico closer to him. Nico just sighs, shaking his head, but doesn't bother to wiggle away from bastard. Nico is his date, dammit. As he gets his cojones to say something, yet, another voice, familiar, adds in. This time behind Will.

"Yo! Grace! What do you think you're doing with Nico!" Percy shouts.

"What do you think," Jason calmly answers back with a smirk.

"If–,"

"Shut up," Nico quietly adds in, to Will's amazement both Percy and Jason are silenced although it doesn't stop their heated glares. Nico wiggles away from Jason coming to stand by Will. "I will not tolerate you two fighting like children; if you come with us you will behave."

"He start–,"

"Boys," Nico says warningly. Jason and Percy pout in their own subtle ways, but listening to Nico all the same.

Will though is both surprised and confused. "Coming with us? Why are they coming with us?"

Nico's eyebrows raise. "Travis and Connor didn't tell you?" he inquires. Will sighs: No, why would those devils tell him anything regarding their precious Nikki? "Percy and Jason want to be chaperones for out little outing. I couldn't fathom why thoug—,"

Percy buts in. He sneaks up behind them and hangs an around both of their shoulders. "I'll tell you why, Nikki. It's because I have to protect your innocence and chastity from perverts like Will. You're an adorable fourteen-year-old, I can't be too sure of what tricks he might try to pull in order to coerce you into doing things you aren't ready for."

Will doesn't exactly know how to take that… he wouldn't ever do anything with Nico's express permission.

Nico narrows his eyes, crossing his arms, "What sort of things exactly?"

Percy chuckles, inching back, "I'm sure Jason would be more than happy to explain."

Jason nods, holding out a hand, "I'll be happy to show you what sort of things, Nikki," the blond offers his hand, "we just need to take a quick detour to be my cabin…"

Will is starting to wish he brought his bow and arrows. He would love nothing more than shoot the flirtatious boy through the heart.

"Nope," Nico says, popping his 'p'. "I wanna see where this idiot," he jerks his thumb toward Will, "is taking me. I could go to your cabin later." Jason sighs, but he doesn't bother to protest and Percy glares over at Jason. Will puffs his cheeks out as Percy and Jason wrap themselves around his Nikki—Zombie Boy— Nico, leaving him only with a small piece of Nikki's shirt. He kinda wonders if they're having a group hug or what, he's arranged to take his chariot and Pegasus out for the night.

"Do you know where we're going?" Nico asks. Will nods. "Directions and everything, you need to have a clear image," he elaborates sternly. Will still nods, he has all that. "Good," he gives him a small smile, "hang on tight and only think of where you're taking me. Nothing else!"

Will doesn't get to question him; he feels a violent tug at his naval and then he's plunged into a world of shadows and monsters from his childhood. The monsters all reach toward him with razor-sharp talons and narrowed blood-red eyes. Gods, he can't bring himself tear his eyes away or move, he can only watch and be still in horrific awe until seconds later he's back in their real world. Twinkling lights and screaming children fill the air, the familiar scent of cheap popcorn and carnival sweets penetrate the air.

"The State Fair," he mutters, astonished. "How in the world?"

He hears a pained groan to his left. Nico. Will jumps to his feet and pulls Nico up with him. He notices that he's paler than normal and he sways unsteadily on his feet. He can't help but brush stray hairs out of his face, feeling a cool sheen of sweat. "Zombie Boy?" he asks, his brows knitting together. That seems to snap Nico out of his daze.

"I'm fine, idiot," Nico brushes Will off. The blond concedes to smaller boy, willing only to move a few inches away from him just in case he fell.

Jason and Percy come around too, clambering around Nico, and the boy's brushes them off to. He chooses to come closer to Will, glaring the other boys off from his side until they were a couple of feet behind him.

"So. You promised me a good time," Nico says, falling into step with Will.

"That I did," Will agrees.

"Where are we?" Nico questions. His eyes are forward, his lips are parted, and he's looking at the fair grounds with wonder. Will chuckles, mentally patting himself on the back, he made a great choice in bringing Nico here.

"In Virginia. The State Fair," he replies.

"I've never been to one before," Nico murmurs just loud enough for Will to catch the words.

Will doesn't exactly know what to say, so, he lets his action speak for him. He grabs ahold of Nico's closest hand and takes a running start toward the glittering fair off in he distance. He can't help his at Nico's dumbstruck expression as he pulls him along. "Come along," he sing-songs, "Bumper cars first! Then, I'll win you a prize~!"

As it turns out for never going to a State Fair Nico blends with startlingly ease. It does not take long at all for him to start giggling and laughing, face pink with utter jubilation, and for him to make his own personal requests, pulling him along to do this and that. He tries all the carnival food with gusto particularly enjoying candied apples and funnel cake.

Jason and Percy fumble behind them with a camera trying to be subtle in taking as many pictures as possible: Nico pays little attention to them. Eventually, he discovers the games and at this his eyes go wide, literally, sparkling. The way Nico looks at the games, Will would've thought he found the secret to nirvana in them.

"Wanna play?" Will asks with a small quirk of his lips.

Nico produces an 'eek', twisting to face Will, "Can I?" he breathes, jittering.

"Sure!" he gives his consent. Nico barely manages to contain his squeal, scampering over to the first booth with him in tow.

Adorable.

It's interesting to watch Nico excel at all the rigged games. The courtiers of such games wear such funny, gobsmacked expressions whenever Nico manages to get the highest and hugest prize on his first, or rarely second try. He soon earns himself his own parade of those enormous fluffy plushies. He has everything ranging from a Stitch to Stewie Griffin. Jason and Percy are treated like carriers and carry all the toys without a single complaint each of them stupidly happy (Percy the most) with Nico having so much fun.

But as along good things they must come to a close. Will notices the orange sun slowly making its descent and the heat of today ebbing away into the cool night. It's only an hour or so until Lady Artemis takes the reins from Dad. He stops abruptly in the middle of all the booths the mixture nauesa and butterflies swirling in the pits of his stomach.

"Nico," he calls softly.

Gods, he feels as if he's in a cheesy romance movie.

"Hm?"

"Do you wanna go on the Ferris wheel," he nods of toward the large attraction outlined by many multicolored lights, trying to play it off as nonchalant.

Nico shrugs. "Sure," he agrees.

Will suppresses the urge to whoop and shout in glee. He settles for humming though as they head north down the dusty trail and past the many colored tents and various clowns. The line for the ride is short and then, they're on the wheel, squished together in a rickety red bench with barely an inch of space to move. The safety bar is clicked into place, the operator of the ride mumbles something incoherently…

Will thinks he's being stealthy as he steals glances at Nico. The pale boy's leaning down, blinking down at the people curiously. "They look like ants," Nico remarks.

"Y-Yeah," Will stutters.

Nico eyes him. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"No!" Will shakes his head vehemently. A child of Apollo being afraid of heights, that's almost as silly as a child of Zeus being afraid of the sky or heights.

Nico frowns, raising an eyebrow, "Then why are you acting so nervous all of the sudden. You haven't stopped moving since we got on this thing."

"Oh that, uhh, yeah… I'm fine I promise, my leg just fell asleep," Will explains, flinching, as his voice cracks and his smile twitches.

"Do not lie to me. I always know when someone is lying," Nico says sharply.

Will can't help his snicker. "Look who's trying to emulate Lord Voldemort."

"Lord Voldie-what?"

"Never mind," Will brushes it off. They stay in silence for a couple more seconds until they reach the climax of the ride. Yes every couple gets like a second or two to be at the very top, but it appears fate or two certain idiots stop the ride right when they're at the top.

"Why are we stopping," Nico asks.

Will shrugs. He thinks its the perfect time for him to fake a yawn and wrap and arm around Nico, but he has this iffy feeling if he were to try something like that Nico would send him to the shadow realm and leave him there for days.

"So, Nikki—"

"Don't call me that," Nico interrupts with a small frown.

"Why?" he can't his whine. It seems like every other boy gets the privilege, why shouldn't he?

"Just don't, the name is reserved for family… I—You– idontwantyoutobefamily?" Nico says in a rush. Will won't lie and say he caught any of that, but he doesn't press the issue. He forces any jealousy out of mind.

"So, Zombie Boy," he starts again, "did you have a good time?"

Nico blinks, nodding hesitantly, "I guess, yeah."

And that's better than nothing. So, Will mentally pats himself on the back with an award-winning grin.

"I'm glad," Will says sincerely.

Nico nods again, refusing to meet Will's blue stare. But that ficklesome is back, and Will would love nothing more than to find out what is going on in Nico's pretty head. The bench abruptly jerks back and the cogs of the ride starts to turn again. They're back on the ground in a minute or so, Jason and Percy are waiting for them.

Will is uneasy when blue and sea-green lock onto him. "What!" he snaps.

They smirk. "Nothing," they say in creepy unison.

"We gotta go, Nikki, we're already past the Camp's curfew. Are you up for one more shadow travel or do you want Jason and me to call rides?"

Nico yawns. He slides from Will's side and wraps his arms around Percy, coming right under his chin. "Everybody grab on and hold on tight. Don't lose my toys," Nico answers. This time, Will is allowed to get closer to Nico, he has his arms wrapped around his waist and Jason is stuck grabbing onto his shirt.

Will really doesn't want to experience shadow traveling again, so, he shuts his eyes and waits for the strange naval pulling to cease.

They arrive back at Camp in one piece; or well, he, Jason, and Percy do. Nico is looking worse for wear. As soon as he unhooks his arms from around Percy, his eyes roll backward and he collapses. Luckily, Will was behind him and he catches Nico before he hits the crowd, cradling him in his arms.

Percy scowls as does Jason. He moves close to Nico, brushing hair out his face, and flicking off invisible dust. "Stupid Nikki. Always pushing himself," he sighs.

"Follow me," Percy quietly commands, his hand slipping back to his side. He walks behind the sea brat (Jason on his left) at a slow pace careful not to jostle the boy too much, he notices that they're going to Nico's cabin. The building makes Will antsy but pursues his lips and continues on at Percy's heels, stepping into the Hades domain.

The first thing he notices about that cabin is that it's chilly. Two, it's huge, three, the only source of light in the cabin are eerie flickers of emerald-green Greek fire, four, it's huge like it could give the Hephaestus cabin a run for their money, and five, there is ton of stuff crammed in there. He can't exactly make out what sort of things Nico has, but it's sort of like a history museum.

"How the heck does Nico live like this?" Will says in awe, straining to follow Percy in the darkness while not tripping over junk.

Both Jason and Percy snort in amusement. "Let's just say Hades children are the most special out of the little big three. You can never tell with them," Percy says. He rests his hand on Will's shoulder and leads him to a rather large bed with smaller beds surrounding it.

The son of Apollo doesn't get Percy's explanation. He rolls with it as he puts Nico in the bed, only to scream bloody murder when two figures rise out of the bed. Percy slaps a hand over his mouth, hissing a harsh, "Shush! It's only the Stolls!"

Travis and Connor are shaking with silent laughter, the tell-take slap of high-five is heard. Percy removes his hand from Will when the almost-twins are done. "What are they doing here?" he says as soon as he free.

"They're almost always here," Jason explains from somewhere in the room. Will sort of wishes he had the fabled ability of his father's children to produce light. The darkness was suffocating. How Nico could live and function in here was truly an enigma.

"Sparky's right," Travis says. "We decided to resume our residency in here since Nikki's all happy once again. We intended to surprise him, but he's all passed out and clammy; what happened."

A weird think can be heard. And Will would be fool to not notice the edge to Travis' words.

"Don't get your panties into a twist, Travis, and that goes for you too, Connor," Percy sighs. "Nikki passed out when he shadow-traveled us for a second time… and yes, I offered him an option, but he didn't take it."

The Stolls sigh much like Percy did before.

"Did he at least have a good time?" Connor speaks up.

"He won at every game he played and rode on everything twice," Percy chuckles.

"Pictures?" the brothers press urgently.

"But of course," Percy says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

He can't see it, but he knows, the brothers are extremely happy and were probably cooing and stroking Nico right now. And he's aware that if Percy and Jason were to take the brothers' place, they'd be doing the something if not a bit more. He wonders what relationship all these guys share with Nico; it frequently totters between polygamous and brother-like.

"So, uh, I guess I'll go back to my cabin now…" Will says, interrupting the foursome's banter. The room is silent. He's pretty sure he can hear his and everyone else suck in air.

"Why?" Percy is the first to question him. He can hear rustles from the authors.

"Don't you want to stay here for the night?" Travis follows behind with another question. The authors murmur in agreement.

"B-but," Will doesn't understand, isn't he encroaching, why do they want him to stay longer. They seem pretty protective over Nico and he thought they sort of boot him off whenever they have private time with boy.

"No buts, stay," Jason says strongly, leaving no room for complaint.

"O-kay," he relents. "Where do I sleep?"

"With us," Connor says, and Percy pushes Will forward to land onto the bouncy mattress. He kicks off his shoes and shucks off his shirt, squinting his eyes to see three outlines on the bed, two of which are sitting straight up and the other is lying down.

"Anywhere is fine," Travis tells him helpfully.

Will decides to the patch of bed he has now is a fine place to bunker down for the night. He slips under the heavy covers, blinking rapidly as questions continue to buzz around him. "Is this a normal occurrence with Nico and everything?"

They all laugh. "I guess. Travis and Connor are here almost every day. I stop by every now and then. Leo's a frequent visitor and so is his sister Hazel, and Jason usually sleeps with Nico every time he's here from Camp Jupiter — "

"Not tonight," Jason interrupts, sulking.

"Oh," Will replies, stumped on what else say. These guys and Nico…

Travis yawns. "Don't worry, Solace, if you're seriously about Nikki — you'll get used to it."

"Trav's right," Connor says softly. "Go to sleep. There's no use in you trying to figure out everything right now."

Will nods. They're right. It's probably only ten and he's dead tired, all this extra, is just draining him of even more energy. He pushes all questions to back of his mind. They can wait for tomorrow.

... I was so close to actually posting this, but I decided not to. I didn't like it, everything was moving to fast, and ugh, it's hard to explain. Bleh. Anyways, it was supposed to end with I 'Love like you'll never be hurt' and in Nico's pov, where Nico and Will go out for icecream. I said no~! So yeah. idea went poof.


End file.
